Sunday, February 26, 2012

"Every Once in a While"

I should be in bed!  I watched the Oscars tonight for the first time in many years; in part because I control my work schedule now.  That is, except for the care of my life partner who will need me to get up at some point during the night to help with post surgery care.  I will never receive an Oscar for the recurring role of Nurse Norm but I find joy in being there for her.

I know many people did not, would not, and cannot watch the Oscars.  It is time for confession (the pastor said this morning confession could be good for us-I actually was listening!).  As a child I spent many hours playing roles, some in my mind and some with my friends.  I was Clark Kent to my neighbor Carol's Lois Lane.  Much like Clark in the Superman television role, others could not see me as Superman.  I managed teams and made winning plays using baseball cards laid out on my bed.  A pencil and marbles became bat and balls.  I even kept scorecards for each game.  I often think I was born a dreamer in search of answers. 

One of my dreams was to be an actor.  "The Mouse That Roared" was one of my shining moments on the stage-high school, that is.  I sat in Grandpa Boyles' house and was drawn into the scariness of "The Thing" on his black and white television (I really am that old).  007 was a fantasy of what I could do to make things right.  And "In Cold Blood" took me into a disturbing world I did not know existed where you might never be able to make things right.  Years later I realized I would never be, in the laugh-at-yourself voice of Jon Lovitz, "The Master Thespian."  I was moved to tears by "Good Morning Vietnam."  I still can feel the sadness and irony of a country visually exploding in violence and death while Louis Armstrong's voice could be heard singing "It's A Wonderful World."

During the Oscars they showed a clip of movie folk talking about what makes a great movie.  One of them said "Every once in a while you find the truth."  What movie woke you up to a truth for your life, a truth about life, a truth worth risking your life to make it happen?  I wanted to be an actor for lots of reasons. One was because I believed I could help myself and others see new realities.  The right words, the well chosen words, even the silly words could reveal the truths I sought.

Well, as my readers know, I ended up on a smaller stage and played a singular role.  I was not well cast as "The Preacher" and I fearfully stepped out onto that stage Sunday after Sunday.  Rarely confident I had any word for others I hoped that every once in a while those listening found a truth.  It is the power of film, great films tucked in a sea of silly films.  It is the power of the spoken word to grab you and leave you moved to a new understanding.

Maybe in truth we are all 'actors' on the stage of our lives; actors in search of a role that gives life, wonder, joy, and meaning.  If we are lucky we find some answers we discover as truth.  If we are willing to share the stage with other actors they reach inside our 'role' and pull us out into the discovery that it can be a wonderful world even in the raw, painful moments (I am really good at run on sentences).  I should be in bed!  "Good night, Mrs. Calabash wherever you are!"

Friday, February 24, 2012

"$4 Gas-Really?"

I am almost afraid to drive past my gas station more than once a day.  I don't know if I am causing it but every time I drive by it seems the price of gas goes up.  Now there is talk (again) of $4 gas this summer.  And gas prices appear to be poised to be the next political fear factor.  Really?

It is reported there are gas stations near Disney World charging $5.89 NOW.  I don't know if this is true but, in the spirit of the political season, I will not let that stop me from saying it is true.  A politician promises that, if he is elected president, gas will cost no more than $2.50 a gallon.  He suggests the re-election of the current president will lead to even higher gas prices-fear factor! 

I have been fortunate to have visited a number of countries the past 6 months.  On average drivers in those countries are paying $5.50-$6.50 in US dollars for a gallon of gas and have been for some time!  Oil is a global commodity and we are part of a global world.  To suggest we can control the price at the pump by ourselves is foolish.  I don't like paying more for my gas but I will not allow it to become a fear factor in my voting decisions.  This is not simply an American issue and, in fact, we have it better than most of the world.  Pandering to my fears is not helpful to the larger political issues our country faces.

Fear Factor may be okay for a television show but not for our future as a society.  Fear divides instead of uniting.  The NYPD is in the news for a large scale surveillance of the Muslim community.  This was done in the name of protecting the city.  Assuming you have done nothing wrong how would you like someone writing down your car's license plate number and taking your picture when you go to church on Sunday?  "Muslim", for some, is a fear word that justifies questionable actions.

The religion of our current president has been raised again.  It has been suggested he might not be a 'Christian' or, at the least, he does not live as the Bible says we should live as followers of Jesus.  Sure thought I read somewhere about 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone.'  Playing to fears divides us.  Demonizing those who do not share our views or agree with us is not helpful.

Address the issues that matter to us as a nation.  1.46 million Americans are NOW living on $2 a day.  "Fracking" for oil has serious environmental concerns beyond the price at the pump.  Young men and women continue to serve our country and die in multiple countries.  The world economy has tremors we feel in
America.  Economists suggest what we have enjoyed as 'the American way of life' will not ever be the same again.  Who will address the larger, crucial matters without resorting to playing on my fears?  $4 gas is the political subject of the day-REALLY?

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

"What Do We Expect?"

I usually an amused or bemused by comments from television 'talking heads.'  Sometimes they are so over the top I cannot ignore the comments.  This is one of those times.  Over the weekend Liz Trotta (well known for her often controversial views and comments) commented on a reported dramatic increase in the number of sexual assaults in our military.  She made these comments: "Now what did they expect?  These people are in close contact." and "women in the military are being raped too much (italics mine)."

I know, or at least I believe, she is a minority voice about this serious issue in all areas of our lives.  I could dismiss this as an 'out there' view not shared by others.  However, having worked with 'words' most of my adult life I have seen the power of spoken words to hurt or help others.  Given that we continue to struggle with issues of respect and responsibility I offer the following observations.

One, seriously-"being raped too much?" Is there some kind of rating scale where we can tell when women are being raped too little, just enough, or too much?  One rape is too much!  One life scarred by such a traumatic event is too much.  Where do these fall on such a scale: a young girl is raped in a high school bathroom; a college coed is stalked and raped outside her dorm; a young woman on a date is sexually assaulted in a car; and an elderly woman in her own bedroom is attacked and raped?  There is no scale for such behavior.  Tragically we still struggle as a society with perceptions that impact behavior between genders.  Personal responsibility and societal tolerance of 'levels' of such behavior are part of our life together.

Two, seriously-'what did they expect?" I know what I expect.  I expect everyone, male and female, to treat each other with respect!  To value another person calls us to relate to them in ways that are not demeaning, harmful, or a dismissing of their intrinsic worth as a human being, a child of God.  Men and women, boys and girls are in 'close contact' all the time.  Whether it is in our homes, in schools, on sports teams, in community organizations, in churches, or the military 'close contact' is NOT PERMISSION to violate another person!

We cannot, without risk to our sense of being a human family, ignore such comments or dismiss them as simply the foolish comments of someone.  I respect and support the right of free speech for everyone.  I also expect responsibility when we exercise our free speech.  Thinking more carefully and clearly before we speak (one of my BIG problems) helps us preserve our sense of respect for all and strengthens the human family.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Ordinary Days

Tonight I read Psalm 4 from the bible as translated by Eugene Peterson.  The passage concludes with these words: "Why is everyone hungry for more? 'More, more', they say, 'More, more.'  I have God's more-than-enough, More joy in one ordinary day Than they get in all their shopping sprees.  At day's end I'm ready for sound sleep.  For you, God, have put my life back together."

In the midst of worrying over tomorrows, re-thinking yesterdays, and coping with any day I do well to be reminded of the gift of ordinary days.  Today was an ordinary day, just what I needed.

Seconds before the alarm pulled me from bed I could hear the steady, slightly noisy breathing of my wife laying beside me.  It is a good sound.  I went to the grocery store and played bumper carts with surly and smiling people.  When I checked out my grocery bill for the week was $74.01 (not necessarily an ordinary order total).  Grandsons Aiden and Parker were here for the afternoon and evening.  Getting out of the car heading into Chili's Aiden did his best to catch the wet snowflakes on the tip of his tongue.  He brought back memories of many years ago as he contorted his face in a mostly futile effort.

After dinner I was in my office at home when Parker wandered in looking for me.  He spotted my monkey nesting cups on a shelf.  When he picked them up I showed him how to twist one open exposing the monkey inside.  For a half-hour he took them apart and put them back together.  His eyes glowed and a smile spread across his face as he moved the bananas in the last tiny monkey to other sizes.

I slipped into the bedroom hearing Cheryl's voice-"Don't tell me you are going in there to watch television and leave me with these two boys?"  I replied, "Fringe is one of the few shows I watch." Sprawled on the bed with only the light of the television set I lost myself in this sci-fi show.

"More joy in one ordinary day...ready for sound sleep...for you, God, have put my life back together."

Friday, February 3, 2012

"Groundhog Day in America"

Growing up in Pennsylvania I learned about Punxsutawney Phil at a young age. I even believed for awhile that how much winter remained for us depended on whether or not Phil saw his shadow.  Again this year he saw his shadow and the top hat wearing, facial hair covered pompous men pronounced 6 more weeks of winter.  What winter?  It was 52 and sunny in Lafayette on Groundhog Day.  I guess it is an amusing and fairly harmless exercise that gets lots of media coverage each year.  But I know there is always 6 weeks to the official start of spring whatever Phil sees!

Some years ago I enjoyed the movie "Groundhog Day" starring Bill Murray as 'Phil', a weather man from Pittsburgh.  What happens is he gets stuck in February 2-Groundhog Day.  He ends up living the same day over and over and over again.  Phil seems to be the only one who realizes what is going on.  One of the lines from the movie I really like is: "Well, what if there is no tomorrow?  There wasn't one today."

It seems to me that many of us are stuck, living the same pattern over and over and over again.  And that pattern finds expression in apocalyptic pronouncements about there being no tomorrow.  Following this year's State of the Union address Governor Mitch Daniels spoke to the nation about our being on the edge of a catastrophe from which America might not recover.  He suggested we have time but not much to choose the right path.  As states debate giving the same rights and benefits to same sex couples as married couples voices speak out warning us that the moral fiber and fabric of America will unravel if this is allowed to happen.  In the arena of the Church preachers and leaders speak about apocalyptic disaster and even end times if we let priests marry or women be pastors or people question the Bible.

And this is not new-we have been doing it over and over and over for generations.  Sometimes I am tempted to despair that there is no other way and we are destined to do it time after time after time.  What gives me hope comes from what happens to Phil in the movie and the presence of the Book of Revelation in the Bible.  In the movie Phil moves through the days growing beyond his self focus and spends more and more time befriending and helping others.  Finally there comes a morning when he wakes up and it is February 3-a new day!  I am promising myself-in a year in which I suspect politicians, community leaders, and church leaders will ramp up apocalyptic pronouncements-I will commit to spending more time 'befriending others.'  I think it is the way to a new day.  AND I will read the Book of Revelation for the message it holds: hope in times of desperation and encouragement to keep doing the right thing because God is going to bring the world through to a new day.

We don't have to be doomed to spend our days believing the fearful pronouncements of no tomorrow.  We don't have to live in the winter shadow of division, doubt, and hate.  Like Phil in the movie we can wake up to a new day as we help others in this day.  Spring is coming!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

"God is a Giants Fan"

When the New England Patriots and the New York Giants play in the Super Bowl on Sunday will God have a favorite team?  You may think this is a ridiculous question but I believe God is going to get a lot of credit on Sunday.  So it is fair to ask who God likes in the game?

Tom Brady or Eli Manning is going to throw a touchdown pass.  As they run down the field to congratulate the teammate who caught the ball it is likely they will point a finger heavenward.  A running back or wide receiver is going to break a big play.  After they are tackled they will rise up and point heavenward.  A defensive back is going to intercept a pass or a kicker is going to split the uprights and, yes, a finger will point to the skies.  Pointing to the heavens is for winners and that means the Giants on Sunday.

God will settle back in his over sized "Lazy Boy", nachos and salsa and maybe a beer on the table as he cheers on the Giants.  How can I be so certain?  Well, ask most anyone in Indiana and any Colts fan and they will tell you how much they hate the Patriots.  The Patriots are coached by the hoodie wearing Darth Vader and evil schemer Bill Belichick.  The Patriot quarterback, Tom Brady, has shattered too many hopes in too many games against the Colts.  Why it is almost sacrilegious that the Patriots have been practicing on Colt ground.  Truth be told, nothing would make most Colt fans happier than to see the Giants crush the Patriots.

God is a Giants fan!  By now some of you may be wondering if i left my brain on a Caribbean beach.  Maybe!  God picking sides-how ridiculous is that?  God tweaking his pinkie finger and a Patriots defensive back slips to the ground.  God moves his right hand and the wobbly pass from Eli lands safely in the tight ends hands.  God deciding the winning side.  It does sound kind of presumptive to believe we know whose side God is on Sunday.

It leaves me wondering if we are also presumptive in political debates, causes, and conflicts that God has to be on our side.  Something to ponder as you eat your nachos and yell at the television this Sunday.  Any Colt fans willing to give me the Patriots and 7?  I have a hunch whose side God is on:>)